European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 15, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse Monday april 15, 1991 the stars and stripes b Page 9educationnew math adds up to hands on learning by Jimi Jones education writer bad Kissinger Germany a the military a overseas school system is turning to the latest Brand of new math in an Effort to combat the decades old decline in american mathematics skills. Unlike traditional teaching methods a which treat math like its some sort of a military Drill a the new approach regards the subject As an intellectual investigation. It uses fewer lectures Calls for. More problem solving and other analytical thinking and allows students to use the pocket calculator for much of the me Chapican work. Department of defense dependents schools Are Quot very much committed to the new math standards developed by the National Council of. Teachers a said Clyde Finnell the math coordinator for the school sys terns Germany Region. A a we re giving workshops All Over that focus on a More attention to hands on learning As opposed to textbook by 1995, the system expects to have trained 400 administrators and 200 teachers in new math teaching techniques he said. The new approach takes the Drudgery out of mathematics Finnell said. When students no longer simply grind out answers they can get a Fuller grasp of math and an appreciation of its usefulness by solving problems cooperatively with answers applying to Reamie situations he said. Historically math education has been used to a sort out those wit limited mathematical skills a process that reduces the Pool of about 3.6 million ninth Grade students who study math to about 400 recipients of doctoral degrees according to professor Zalman Usiskin. Usiskin director of the University of Chicago school mathematics project recently told Dodds administrators that the new math education tries to reach All students not necessarily those who might want to become professors of math. The new approach tries to help students learn such Basic functions As Reading graphs understanding statistics figuring probability and thinking in logical ways. Usiskin addressed the administrators at the annual administrators workshop in bad Kissinger Germany. He later conducted a two Day workshop for Middle Junior High and High school math teachers that included an overview of the american math situation and Concrete ideas for application to the classroom. Math innovators tried shaking things up before with the new math of the 1960s and 1970s, but succeeded Only in confusing students and teachers alike he said. A you have to consider the source of the two revolutions a Finnell said. A the first was a group of University professors who were attempting to push what they thought was Best on the nation. The modern math movement was not a very successful one at All. This one today is a grass roots movement a he said. A this one stands a much better Chance for the new programs try to add life to math. For years math teachers have told students that algebra and trigonometry might seem irrelevant at the moment but would be important some Day. Usiskin Usiskin said his University of Chicago program for Young students focuses on math used in real life figuring out rates and percentages and stressing problem solving statistics and the use of calculators. and key Point for All we do is to try to bring the real world into the curriculum a Usiskin said. For example instead of posing a problem using convoluted images like trains travelling in opposite directions the Chicago programs seventh Grade text asks suppose a car travels 350 Miles and then stops for Gas. If the attendant pumps in 11.3 Gallons of gasoline How Many Miles a gallon does the car get while students use a calculator to perform the division the Gas mileage question focuses on the powerful mathematical concept of rates. But the lesson does not end there. When students have figured out the mileage they arc asked is the rate Good is it reasonable that starts an argument that can get heated Usiskin said. A perhaps the most telling result of the program is that there is much More discussion in class a Usiskin said. A when kids Are Given stuff that has some meat and Richness they react other efforts at changing math education sacrifice some skill in paper and Pencil computation for a better understanding and feel for what mathematics can accomplish. A project at Moun Holyoke College in South Hadley mass., gives students a Choice Between traditional introductory calculus courses or an innovative approach that forgoes formulas and focuses instead on different ways of solving problems. The cooperative learning approach of the mount Holyoke project is apparent from the moment students enter the classroom. Desks Are arranged in clusters of two or three and students Are expected to Converse As they solve problems. Each class opens with a teacher at the blackboard for about 15 minutes laying out a Complex problem for which the solution must be figured not just plugged in by a formula. For example students might study How a disease spreads through a Community. Assumptions Are made about How Long the disease will last the rate at which people will fall ill and How quickly they recover. Computers do the calculations and the students focus on analysing patterns which is the heart of the science of mathematics. Afterwards students explain in essays How they solved the problem and Why they used a particular approach. The cooperative learning approach is one of the new methods of teaching that Dodds has adopted. Also a calculators arc definitely a part of our curriculum a Finnell said. Teacher enthusiasm is High and a chances Are Good that the 1992 Standard tests will be More in line with what we Are trying to do in and some students Are thriving he said. A a in be worked with a consultant All week and i saw the advanced math kids get a fire m their eyes that i Haven to seen in a Long Finnell acknowledged that Dodds kids who previously were not a turned on by math a probably have not been reached yet. But we certainly Are going to. We have a lot of work to do with Low level kids and that a where our emphasis will be next school contributing to this report lha new York times a 4 named to represent Dodds in mat counts by Jimi Jones education writer four Middle school pupils in Germany have been named to represent the military overseas school system in the annual mat counts Competition in the United states. James c. Miller of Wiesbaden Nick Davis of Hanau Joey Kushner of Giessen and Jeffrey Levsky of Heidelberg were selected to compete in the National contest scheduled for May 3 in Washington. Miller and Davis Are eighth graders Kushner and Levsky Are seventh graders. The four earned the right to represent the department of defense dependents schools after emerging As the top individual scorers in a math counts Competition held in Heidelberg last month. Twenty five schools participated in the program which is designed to highlight the importance of mathematics and to improve math curriculum and instruction in the seventh and eighth grades. Miller and his Wiesbaden team took top honors with Miller out Figur ing his opponents in the individual Competition. His four person team earned the first place team title. Kushner 13, said he had figured he would do Well at the Competition. The agony was in waiting for the announcement of the winners. A it was nerve racking wondering if i was going to make it a he said. A near the end when it was announced i was jumping like crazy. My family is All excited and my grandparents Are going to try to visit me in Washington a he said. A a a a a. A. A a a a a a Quot a a _ Mary Downham the Wiesbaden Middle school team Trainer will coach the Dodds team. Downham who has coached at Wiesbaden for three years does no to expect her Job to be too difficult since the youngsters Are a Well prepared when they reach this Point a she said. A they Are the top four in All of Dodds. Really Sharp students with Good math since All four team members Are from Germany they have the advantage of preparing together before facing National contestants. Each wednesday afternoon until they leave for the United states they will prac Tiee a working together As a team a Downham said. A they were All on opposing Downham said that although she would a love to see one of our youngsters awarded the top prize at the National level a a trip to Washington is definitely a Reward and knowing that they Are the Cream of what we have to last years team placed 31st out of 56 teams a Dodds Best showing Ever. The winning team was from Ohio. Students from department of state school system the District of Columbia Guam puerto Rico and the Virgin islands also Are eligible to participate at the National level. National Competition winners Are the top 10 individuals and the top three teams. Schools seek guidance from parents in Survey by Jimi Jones education writer department of defense dependents schools officials Are asking parents to Grade the school system again in a a report card on the Quality of education offered. A a a. Parents of each Dodds student will have the Opportunity to express their opinion about the school system in a Parent Survey being conducted this month and next. The results of the report would be used to help improve school performance and student achievement. Survey results Are expected to be released in the fall. V. A v a some have suggested that Dodds should delay the report card until next year because of operation desert storm a Dodds director John Stremple said in a recent statement. A your Mission however is to operate schools effectively and to remain focused on education even in times of stress and regional directors school principals and military commanders Are urging parents to Complete the report. A successful businesses make a Point of staying close to their customers a said Mediterranean Region director Tom Goodman. A Dodds is not a business but the same principle applies to us. It is important that we know How the parents of our students perceive the strengths and limitations of our schools. This kind of information helps us establish our priorities for improvement at All Levels. A we know that the last few months have not been Normal times for the families of our Dodds students a Goodman added. A however we Hope that the parents will take a few minutes to Complete our the last Parent Survey was conducted in the Spring of 1989. Questions this year cover curriculum the Overall Quality of education the sources from which parents get school information and problems that concern parents. Gerard Akkerhuis a special projects coordinator for the school systems Germany Region said one of the Best things that came out of the last Survey was a Booklet called Best practices which contains a collection of Good ideas that work in schools. It was distributed to Dodds schools worldwide. A the Challenge this year is to get a 60 percent return rate a Akkerhuis said. Individual schools Are trying several different methods to get the highest possible return rate he said. Postage paid envelopes accompany the surveys. Postal delays caused by the flood of operation desert storm mail have meant that some schools received the surveys later than others Akkerhuis said. As of late last week three schools in Germany a Patch High school in Stuttgart bit Burg High school and Darmstadt Junior High school a had not received the Survey he said. He asked that parents be patient. A Mediterranean Region officials say distribution dates will vary from school to school but in most cases parents can expect to receive the Survey in the coming week. The Survey is going to the parents of some 156,000 children in the 272 overseas schools
